Award-winning performers set for 25th anniversary Jazz Showcase

Published: Wednesday, January 22, 2014 at 02:11 PM.

The 25th anniversary of the Sunday Jazz Showcase in New Bern brings six world-renowned jazz greats to town during two performances at the Doubletree by Hilton.

The shows are at 1:30 and 7 p.m. on Feb. 9.

This outstanding group includes Canadian Bria Skonberg, leader, on trumpet; Australians Adrian Cunningham on reeds and Nicki Parrott on bass; Italian Rossano Sportiello on piano; Floridian Eddie Metz on drums; and North Carolina’s own Maddy Winer on vocals.

Get advance tickets by calling 638-2577 or 637-2300 or by visiting the Bank of the Arts, 317 Middle St. in New Bern.

Tickets for the afternoon show are $35 for Arts Council members and $40 for non-members. The evening show is $30 for members, $35 for non-members and $15 for students.

The Sunday Jazz Showcase began in 1989 when local businessman and Craven Arts Council member John Sturman and his wife, Hanna, decided New Bern could use some top-level jazz. While driving to Wilmington for the annual North Carolina Jazz Festival, they decided it would be good to put something together in New Bern. The Wilmington event was always on a Saturday night, so Sturman planned for a Sunday afternoon New Bern show.

After a few unsuccessful attempts to find a corporate sponsor, Sturman decided to try the nonprofit sector and approached the Craven Arts Council.

The 25th anniversary of the Sunday Jazz Showcase in New Bern brings six world-renowned jazz greats to town during two performances at the Doubletree by Hilton.

The shows are at 1:30 and 7 p.m. on Feb. 9.

This outstanding group includes Canadian Bria Skonberg, leader, on trumpet; Australians Adrian Cunningham on reeds and Nicki Parrott on bass; Italian Rossano Sportiello on piano; Floridian Eddie Metz on drums; and North Carolina’s own Maddy Winer on vocals.

Get advance tickets by calling 638-2577 or 637-2300 or by visiting the Bank of the Arts, 317 Middle St. in New Bern.

Tickets for the afternoon show are $35 for Arts Council members and $40 for non-members. The evening show is $30 for members, $35 for non-members and $15 for students.

The Sunday Jazz Showcase began in 1989 when local businessman and Craven Arts Council member John Sturman and his wife, Hanna, decided New Bern could use some top-level jazz. While driving to Wilmington for the annual North Carolina Jazz Festival, they decided it would be good to put something together in New Bern. The Wilmington event was always on a Saturday night, so Sturman planned for a Sunday afternoon New Bern show.

After a few unsuccessful attempts to find a corporate sponsor, Sturman decided to try the nonprofit sector and approached the Craven Arts Council.

Sturman recalled that Cary Worthy, executive director at the time, saw the merit in the show and that it could be a great fundraiser.

The Showcase was first known as the Sunday Jazz Buffet, complete with ice carvings and a buffet. Milton Hinton, who had played bass on some 800 recordings, joined drummer Bobby Rosengarden — with the NBC Orchestra for more than 20 years — clarinetist Kenny Davern and longtime jazz pianist Dick Sturman.

The show was an instant success.

The problem with the instant success came when folks complained they couldn’t get tickets.

So, the event expanded to include a second performance in the evening.

Today, the Sunday Jazz Showcase continues to be sponsored by Craven Arts Council, led by longtime Executive Director Carol Tokarski. It remains a major fundraiser for the nonprofit.

Because of the anniversary year, there are six musicians this year instead of the usual five.

Here is a glimpse at some of the talented lineup, according to the Craven Arts Council:

* Skonberg, leader and trumpet player, has earned a 2013 Jazz Journalists’ Association nomination for “Up and Coming Jazz Artist of the Year.”

* Cunningham, on woodwinds, returns this year and remains one of Australia’s finest jazz musicians and multi-instrumentalists.

* Metz Jr., on drums, is known for his rock-solid time and swinging musical approach.

* Parrott, on bass, is a familiar face at most of the world’s best jazz festivals. Parrott, also from Australia, began playing at age 4. At 15, she switched her focus from piano and flute to the double bass.

* Sportiello, on piano, is an award-winning performer who began classical piano studies in Italy at the age of 9 and continued in this genre until his graduation from the Conservatory in 1996.

* Winer, the show’s vocalist, attributes her successes to her love of the Great American Songbook, jazz standards and the pop music of her youth.